Success stories | Joanne

Joining from University

Tell us a little bit about yourself

(Your studies, When did you join Dell etc.)

I am relatively fresh out of college – I finished up my masters in management & marketing in March 2015 and prior to that I had spent 3 years studying a BA degree in Economics in University College Cork. As part of my master’s degree, I had to complete a 6 month internship and that is how I got to Dell. In March 2015 I started as an intern associate and spent 6 months working in a supply chain role. Prior to finishing up my Internship, I began to enquire about graduate roles on offer in Dell and within two weeks of finishing my internship role, I returned to Dell as a graduate in the GOMD team (global offer master data).

What has your experience like as a University hire been? How did you hear about Dell and what was the application process like?

My experience as a University hire has been fantastic for the most part. Since this was my first "real job" after college, I needed to become familiar with the basic foundations of the corporate environment and my time as an Intern in Dell allowed me to do that. Simple things like setting up meetings or voicing my opinion was difficult in the beginning but with the support of my buddy, my team, my manager and other grads/interns, I found my feet after the first few weeks. Even after almost one year in Dell, the support from all these people continues to exist. People know you are young and a lot of this is new to you, so they try to help in any way they can.

Why did you choose to come work at Dell?

After having such a successful intern experience and seeing how much emphasis Dell puts on their staff, I knew Dell was the right place for me to kick start my career. I wanted to work in an organization that valued me and this is something that Dell has done from day one. I love that there is extracurricular activities I can become involved with and add value to the organization as a whole. My job in Dell goes well beyond my day to day role and I really feel that I am a part of a fantastic global team.

Did you participate in any internships or rotation programs before you were hired? If so, tell us about your experience.

Yes, I spent the first 6 months of my time here at Dell as an intern. It was a great experience and open a lot of doors for me. During my time as an intern, I through myself into work and tried to absorb as much content as I could. It did take about four months for me to become comfortable with the work and the environment I was in.

What are some projects that you have recently been involved with and some of your career highlights at Dell?

My main project at the moment is the addition of Basic Standardization & ProSupport services to monitors. Up until now, unlike competitors, we have never offered a customer an upsell on their basic warranty for their Monitor, but now as a result of this project, there will be not only an enhanced basic warranty but also the option of a warranty upsell. In terms of onsite programs, I have been involved with the establishment of a new internship programme onsite in Limerick and this is something I thoroughly enjoyed.

How do you think Dell can help you achieve your career goals after graduation?

Yes! Within Dell, you are constantly encouraged to grow and learn new things, be that in your own organization or in a different one. By getting involved in onsite groups, I have been able to use my Marketing expertise to get experience in areas that I would love to grow my Dell career in such as event management, PR and blogging. Not only that, there are a host of training course available for me to up skill in these areas.

How has Dell helped you in your learning and supported you in your first corporate environment?

The people that I have worked with in Dell have always supported my learning. My colleagues and managers have always helped me to understand the concepts of my work by facilitating one on one training courses with me or guiding me through the business processes. The GenNext group onsite are also a fantastic support and regularly hold training courses in areas such as presentation skills, networking skills and communication skills. The SABA courses available online are also a fantastic resource and gives me an opportunity to up skill in a wide variety of topics such as blogging, social media marketing & project management.

What has surprised you the most about working at Dell? What is your favorite part of working at Dell?

I was surprised at how much interest the company has in its graduates and interns. I knew Dell had a reputation as being a great place to work but Dell actively involved in caring for its new hires and really promotes employee growth and learning. That is something that is important to me as I try to build my career. I was also pleasantly surprised to see how much Dell values diversity among employees and their ways of thinking. Dell wants graduates and interns to bring new and fresh ideas to the table and no idea is ever too big, small or out-landish that it can’t be considered.